A Sense of being - Ethically - Filipino

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I was inspired by a quote by Roy Edward Disney that I stumbled across a few months ago:

"It is not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."

His surname automatically gives away his identity as the longtime Senior Executive for the Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and uncle Walt Disney founded. This quote struck me as I reflect on a context that our Power, Ethics and Accountability professor, Corazon Alma de Leon, posed where she said, Despite the fact that many human values are inconsistent, conflicting and unrealistic, they are a fact of life. Everyone must have his quota of values; without them, he is a ship without a rudder. 

Filipinos in the whole world are known for being extraordinarily hospitable. We are generally friendly and welcoming to strangers and guests, making sure that they are comfortable and happy. Filipinos are also very family oriented. We value our families so much that they are always on top of our priorities. Filipinos are also happy people, always smiling and never forget to have a good laugh despite the problems and hardships that come their way. These are some of the many Filipino values that we all know and share.

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The sense of being a Filipino does not end in the values we possess. One has to also understand the psychology of a Filipino to appreciate our thoughts and actions. Perhaps not unique to the Filipinos is our fondness of taboo which merited a very familiar tagalog phrase, masarap ang bawal. This thought is rooted in our system that we use it to justify wrong actions such as eating foods not good for our body or crossing the street even with a blaring no crossing sign displayed in front. Filipinos are also indisputably onion skinned, making us easily excited and hurt. This is perhaps the reason we Filipinos are quick to see flaws in the system and are always complaining. We get a glimpse of this very filipino trait in all our local movies, songs, and is also embodied in our national historical events such the EDSA Revolution. Thus we can say that this trait practically defines us Filipinos. Some highly associate this trait to tantrums but it can only mean that Filipinos are in most cases considerate or concerned. Closely associated with the value of hospitality, Filipinos also love to share. It is very rare that you see a Filipino saying no and I think when you put all of these traits and values together, we Filipinos are by and large good natured.

Our guest speaker Ms. Rose Yenko affirmed my above sentiments in her lecture on Filipino psyche by introducing various Filipino archetypes. These archetypes clearly depicted the most common traits and values that are uniquely Filipino. Given a chance to identify the archetype I belong to is a changing experience. It helped me discover my capabilities and made me aware of the people around me. I used to judge people at first glance and use this as basis for liking or hating them accordingly. But after given a chance to interact with a classmate, exchange views and discover the possibilities of really having multiple archetypes in a group was very moving. I learned to appreciate each of my classmates' strengths, weaknesses and saw where they are coming from. The exercise not only introduced me to the real me but gave me a sense of being a Filipino. Our class was a representation of our country having varying opinions and traits. The relationship can be very dynamic but with proper guidance and control, will be a strong force to reckon with. I believe each of us need to find where we are good at or which trait we most actively possess and use its true potential to drive the nation to where it is supposed to be because not knowing and appreciating each other’s personal (individual) traits is usually where we all break into fights.

More importantly, Ms. Yenko’s lecture asserted the two core Filipino values I know, the sense of togetherness or pakikipag kapwa tao and loyalty or katapatan. These two values are very evident around us specially in the government. We see public servants who work according to these two values. Though these values are meant to be good, some politicians use these in a manner that we deemed unethical. Coupled with utang na loob or indulgence, these values could be the source of most troubles especially if the one these politicians are loyal to have no regard for others but themselves. In fact, most corruption cases can be attributed to the misuse and abuse of these two values. There have been unending debates on how to resolve corruption problems in our country but I have come to realize that the answer really is within each of us. Just like what Ms. Yenko helped me understand, we just have to discover, appreciate and use our own traits and values properly. However difficult it may seem, you can not simply stop and say, this is just the way the cookie crumbles soon as you realize that there is really something you can do to change the situation for the better.

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Having said that and contrary to what many think, I believe that ethics or ethical behavior can be taught. Studies have shown that changes in ethical behavior is associated with the number of years of formal education and that deliberate educational attempts to influence moral problems and a person’s ability to reason is effective. But in my opinion, learning how to behave morally correct need not come from a full blown ethics course. Since we are influenced by our own moral perception and judgement, short exercises or activities such as the one given to us by Ms. Yenko can make us realize our own definition of being ethical. So the question really is not whether ethics can be taught, rather, are we willing and able to practice behavior that we consider ethical? Because regardless of our archetype, we can all be ethical in many ways possible. It is still our personal choice to do and be good regardless of your archetype.